On July 16th, Liberato.US broke the story that BCFS Health and Human Services received a government grant (No. 90ZU0102) in the amount of $190,707,505 to provide Residential Services and Basic Shelter Care for Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs) in connection with the border surge last summer. Critics have denounced such grants as ‘crony Christianity.’ Liberato.US’ Investigation continued with a Freedom of Information Act request for the actual grant documents. Liberato.US wanted to know what BCFS HHS (a 501c3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization) was doing for $190 million – that’s a lot of money. Also, Liberato.US examined BCFS HHS’ tax form 990 for 2012 (apparently the latest publicly available). These documents, when read in conjunction with news stories from the last few months, raise additional questions. The investigation has taken some surprising turns and ultimate conclusions will have to await the results of a follow-up FOIA request.

The preliminary findings of the investigation are presented below, but first let’s look at what has already been reported about BCFS HHS and affiliated entities (formerly known as Baptist Child & Family Services):

· In addition to the grant in question, BCFS entities have received $185 million in government shelter grants since 2009. TAGGS (search on BCFS)

· “five organizations — BCFS, Southwest Key Program International Educational Services Inc., USCCB/Catholic Charities, and Lutheran Immigration & Refugees Service — have received a combined total of almost $500 million from the Department of Health and Human Services’ unaccompanied alien children program in 2014.” CapitalResearch.org

· Kevin Dinnin, principal officer and CEO of BCFS EMD, attended a meeting with President Obama and Texas Governor Rick Perry in July 2014, along with other so-called ‘faith-based charities’ that exist primarily on government grant money. Conservative Treehouse

· BCFS planned to convert a resort hotel (with tennis courts, sauna, and indoor and outdoor pools) into a $50 million UAC shelter, but abandoned the plan after a backlash erupted. Gateway Pundit

· BCFS failed to properly disclose its lobbying activities. It is the only organization providing UAC residential services to spend money on lobbying, disbursing $210,000 since 2006 to woo the federal government. After being confronted, BCFS indicated it might correct its tax forms which currently hide lobbying expenditures under ‘functional expenses’ or ‘professional fees’. Daily Caller

· In July 2014, a BCFS security force threatened to arrest doctors and nurses if they divulged contagion threats at the Lackland Air Force Base UAC shelter in San Antonio (more on this shelter below). The security forces, who called themselves the “Brown Shirts” (Adolf Hitler, call your office), took cell phones away to keep word about measles, scabies, chicken pox, and strep throat from getting out. Fox News

· BCFS’ pattern of secrecy continued when Congressman Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma was refused entrance to BCFS’ UAC shelter at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma in July 2014 (more on this shelter below). Bridenstine Press Release Moreover, BCFS “prevented a Los Angeles Times reporter from interviewing detainees, caseworkers, and other staff; physically pushed a local TV reporter from the entrance of a facility; and attempted to block the reporter’s camera crew from recording across the street from the facility.' Investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson says government officials have blocked her attempts to find out more via the Freedom of Information Act.” Daily Mail

FOIA Response

The $190 million grant came from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). BCFS’ revised grant application was received July 2, 2014 and approved three working days later on July 7th. The figures from the grant documents, discussed below, are not actual expenditures. They are more like spending caps. Grantees typically incur expenses, then draw down grant money from the federal government in reimbursement. Grantees do not necessarily draw down or spend the entire amount stated in the grant. Even so, the grant documents paint a picture of the breadth and scope of the resources being spent on alien children coming over the border in the surge.

The grant documents allocated up to $104 million for the UAC shelter at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma (the one to which Congressman Bridenstine was refused entrance). This was for 1,200 beds for just 120 days (mid-June to mid-October). The grant called for a 30-person Incident Management Team of professionals incurring base personnel costs of $2,648,800. Thus, team members were to be paid an average of $88,293 for four months’ work, an annualized rate of $264,879, plus fringe benefits which included payment of payroll taxes (sweet! – Timothy Geithner, you may want to inquire). In addition, the grant called for support staff which was expected to deal with medical isolations, suicide watches, etc. Support staff included outdoor rec teachers and arts & crafts instructors.

Other items for the Ft. Sill shelter which might raise eyebrows include:

· vans, 1-ton trucks, and a mobile command post

· $6,765,000 for hotels for staff

· $18,198,000 for food provided by a local catering service at $75 per day for 3 meals and 2 snacks ($75 a day?!)

· cable television (don’t we all wish we could afford cable television?), and

· $584,000 for telephone service so shelter occupants could call their families twice a week.

The grant documents also:

· provided up to $77,914,178 for a 1,200-bed UAC shelter in San Antonio (Lackland Air Force Base) for May 18th to September 18th in 2014. The Incident Management Team was to be twice as big as at Ft. Sill (63 members). Why, then, the grant amount would be less than for Ft. Sill cannot be determined from the documents. Maybe it’s because food was to be ‘only’ $65 a day.

· allocated $26,527,729.00 for travel. This is for reunification with families or transferring to another program. The minors must be escorted – two escorts when there are behavioral problems. None of this is cheap - $500 to $1,000 each flight for each minor, plus $1,200 per escort.

· authorized $3,123,656 for overtime for all positions in five BCFS HHS Emergency Shelters affected by the surge - 738 beds in Texas from May 1, 2014 to September 30, 2014.

· gave BCFS up to $17,965,197.00 in “indirect charges”, i.e., overhead. BCFS got to cover part of its organization-wide expenses through this grant – human resources, payroll, accounting, IT, etc., and

· reiterated incessantly that such-and-such an item or service was to promote the “physical and emotional well-being” of the children. Too bad the President’s immigration policy failed to consider the physical well-being of the U.S. children who have come down with enterovirus D68 and died, or the emotional well-being of the friends and loved ones they leave behind.

Tax Form 990 (2012)

BCFS Health and Human Services reported $63,321,664 in revenue from government grants, out of $70,384,069 in total revenue for the reporting period. Thus, the $190 million grant discussed above, if drawn down completely, would almost triple their 2012 revenue. Also, one can see from these figures that about 90 percent of their revenue is from government grants, leading critics to charge BCFS with “crony Christianity” – hiding behind a Bible-flavored veneer when, in actuality, they are grubby government contractors, no holier than other government contractors employing K Street lobbyists to grub for more government dough.

The tax form 990 also reveals that BCFS HHS:

· Had five staff members making more than $200,000, plus three more making more than $150,000 in total annual compensation

· “Maintain[s]an office, employees, or agents outside of the United States”. What for?

· Gave foreign grants or assistance to governments, organizations, and individuals ($13,792). What’s that about? Possible scenario: BCFS gives U.S. taxpayer money to organizations in Central American countries for the purpose of encouraging more people to come to the United States where they will end up in government-funded BCFS shelters. Under this scenario, BCFS would be using taxpayer funds as seed money to drum up more business for itself. The 990, however, states, that $13,792 went to Kinship Care Sri Lanka. But another $60,652 in BCFS grants went to orphanages and “communities” in Mexico, edging closer to the scenario outlined above. This raises questions about what the government knows about BCFS’ foreign grants. Liberato.US’ next FOIA request will find out.

· Gave domestic grants or assistance to governments and organizations ($66,644) and individuals ($3,334,873!). $3,265,710 went to 1,803 recipients of “ETV grants”. These are education training vouchers, which raises the question of whether taxpayers are paying college tuition and other school expenses for DREAMers and UACs by surreptitiously laundering the money through BCFS. A FOIA request will be made.

· Gave $69,163 in “ORR allowance grants” to 4,500 recipients. These are Office of Refugee Resettlement grants to facilitate self-sufficiency including: employment services, case management, maintenance assistance (which includes provision of food or food subsidies, housing, and transportation) and cash allowances. A FOIA request will be made for details. The American people deserve to know whether federal money is being cloaked and used to support illegal immigrants through such grants.

The 990 also shows other oddities:

· $66,685 in investment management expenses, but the balance sheet in the 990 shows no investments

· derivatives and closely-held equity interests, but these are not named

· $3.4+ million in travel expenses

· $79,365 in conferences, conventions, and meetings; and

· CEO pay based on ‘market analysis of similar nonprofits’. Such information often comes from compensation consultants and is exactly the method used to set the heavily-criticized stratospheric pay of CEOs in corporate America – don’t pay’em what they’re worth; pay’em more than the CEO down the street so their egos won’t be bruised. Consultants rule and common sense goes out the window. Why should a religiously motivated CEO doing government work need to be paid $450,000 a year? The frame of reference for setting compensation is all wrong.

Curiouser and Curiouser

Three big shelters were closed in August, supposedly because the number of UACs dropped. However, the UACs were dispersed to 150 smaller shelters throughout the country, mostly run by ‘nonprofits’. The government will not tell the public – or even Congress – where the shelters are. “Critics say the government is improperly keeping details secret to avoid negative publicity and protests.” WJLA-TV The shelters were big targets for unfavorable publicity. No wonder they were closed, the UACs dispersed and made invisible. Out of sight, out of mind. The pattern of secrecy continues. Is BCFS still a part of it?

About 7,700 children in all were housed, according to The Guardian. The Ft Sill grant started June 12th and was supposed to run through October 15th. But it was closed by August 14th, about half-way through the grant. What happened to the rest of the money? The Lackland Air Force Base grant was supposed to run from May 18th to September 18th but, according to The Guardian’s report, was closed by August 14th, about three-fifths of the way through. Same question: what happened to the rest of the money? Did BCFS’ involvement end when the big shelters closed, or are they still drawing down money for smaller shelters under the same grant? It is not uncommon for grants to be repurposed. Liberato.US will file another FOIA request to find out what happened in this case.

In addition to the FOIA requests noted above, Liberato.US will file for oversight documents, including narrative and financial reports; documents discussing any redirection of the grant; and other particulars that will shed light where light is needed.

Stay tuned.

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